Settling a case where medicaid is involved

Editor’s Note: Ten days after this story about the death of Laura Levis was published on BostonGlobe.com, the leaders of Somerville hospital’s parent company, Cambridge Health Alliance, met with her husband, Peter DeMarco, at the Globe’s Boston office. DeMarco, who had talked about the story on NBC Nightly News and other outlets, had asked CHA nearly a month earlier to answer questions about his wife’s death. * * * SEPTEMBER 16, 2016, 4:23:59 A.M. 911 operator: “This line is recorded. Where is your emergency?” Laura: “I’m at Somerville Hospital.” 911 operator: “I’m sorry. Where are you?” Laura: “Somerville Hospital.” 911 operator: “OK, what’s the emergency?” Laura: “I’m having an asthma attack. I’m dying.” 911 operator: “Whereabouts are you at the hospital?” Laura: “Emergency room.” 911 operator: “OK.” Laura: … [Read more...] about Laura Levis was left to die outside an ER. Why were the doors locked?

By Noam Scheiber, New York Times Published 3:17 pm CDT, Friday, July 20, 2018 Photo: JEENAH MOON /NYT Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 A labor union protest in New York, June 27, 2018. A legal campaign to force public-sector unions to refund fees already paid by nonmembers is underway in several states. A labor union protest in New York, June 27, 2018. A legal campaign to force public-sector unions to refund fees already paid by nonmembers is underway in several states. Photo: JEENAH MOON /NYT Trump nominee is behind anti-union legal campaign 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Even before the Supreme Court struck down mandatory union fees for government workers last month, the next phase of the conservative legal campaign against public-sector unions was underway. In March, with the decision looming, lawyers … [Read more...] about Trump nominee is behind anti-union legal campaign

By Charles Piller, Jia YouJul. 5, 2018 , 2:00 PM On a sweltering July day in 2010, seven medical researchers and one patient advocate gathered in a plush Marriott hotel in College Park, Maryland, to review a promising drug designed to prevent heart attacks and strokes by limiting blood clotting. The panel is one of dozens of advisory committees that vote each year on whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should approve a therapy for the U.S. market. That day, panel members heard presentations on the drug's preclinical and clinical data from agency staff and AstraZeneca in Cambridge, U.K., its maker and one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. The occasion sparked little drama. In the cool refuge of the conference room, advisers politely questioned company scientists and complimented their work. By day's end, the panel voted seven to one to approve. FDA, as usual, later signed off. The drug, ticagrelor, marketed under the name Brilinta, sold rapidly, emerging as a … [Read more...] about Hidden conflicts? Pharma payments to FDA advisers after drug approvals spark ethical concerns

HHS leaders want states to settle the contentious question of whether Native Americans should get jobs in order to keep their health care — a move that likely won't resolve the underlying challenge to tribal sovereignty and was sparked by an unusual split between the agency's politically appointed administrators and legal counsel. The agency's position that tribes are a racial group and not separate governments — a determination by Trump administration lawyers that POLITICO first detailed last month — has raised concerns in Congress and alarmed the tribes, who say it reverses centuries of protections enshrined in the Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court.Story Continued Below HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the agency's former general counsel, told tribal leaders at a meeting Thursday that state Medicaid administrators will be able to work with tribal governments on designing any employment requirements. “This vision is best implemented locally, where … [Read more...] about Trump challenge to Native Americans’ health splits HHS, alarms Hill GOP